I had this surgery on Tuesday of this week (today is Friday). It went far better than I had ever hoped. I feel great. I woke up this morning on my stomach which amazed me that was able to roll and turn in my sleep. I have had very little pain. I only requested pain medication twice while in the hospital. I did have a terrible headache yesterday morning and it finally left about 20-30 minutes after I took my pain medication. I stayed in the hospital overnight. I did have soreness for the first two days. Now only once incision site is tender. The incisions are very small, the largest is approximately one inch.
I have had no bleeding. The incisions are healing great. I do get tired very easily. I have been waking early (around 5:30) and then taking a long morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap. I go to sleep around 7 or 7:30 at night. I am certain this will improve as time goes on.
I was very careful not to eat or drink prior to the surger. My surgery was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. and I was instructed not to eat or drink after midnight. I quit eating and drinking about 8 o'clock the night before. I had no nausea. My doctor also prescribed a patch for motion sickness before surgery and pepcid which most likely helped prevent nausea, as well.
I highly recommend this type of surgery. Feel free to ask me any questions. Best of luck! 8)
I have had no bleeding. The incisions are healing great. I do get tired very easily. I have been waking early (around 5:30) and then taking a long morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap. I go to sleep around 7 or 7:30 at night. I am certain this will improve as time goes on.
I was very careful not to eat or drink prior to the surger. My surgery was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. and I was instructed not to eat or drink after midnight. I quit eating and drinking about 8 o'clock the night before. I had no nausea. My doctor also prescribed a patch for motion sickness before surgery and pepcid which most likely helped prevent nausea, as well.
I highly recommend this type of surgery. Feel free to ask me any questions. Best of luck! 8)
Hi Robyn, I just had the surgery 1 week ago and I feel GREAT. Even my husband and neighbour are surprised. I noticed an improvement the day after with no back and shoulder pain. Especiallly my neighbour, because I have been complaining about my sore foot for sooooooo long (still am by the way) that she thinks I just have a negative attitude about health but I think you get that way when you can't walk on your foot for a long time and to be honest my foot still hurts more than my tummy. I broke my foot on Feb 20.
When I was researching about LSH, I found a website that had the operation live. If you can handle it, I'll post the url. They also had the 2 patients give their comments about the surgery - all of it was positive. As with any surgery there can always be complications but I think this one is the simplest out of all of the different hysterectomies as long as you get someone familiar with doing the technique, namely because they can see more and move around easier. The less invasive the surgery (ie less cutting) the quicker the recovery.
Here's a website that explains a little bit about the surgery:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/03/01/focus1.html
I am so not worried about getting my periods, I can hardly wait till my foot gets better. Sigh......
Where I come from, I luckily only heard about it from a private doctor. I had to pull a fast one to meet with him and I managed to p*****f my original gynecologist in doing so but you know what, with the way I feel, I have no regrets. Now I want to go public to explain the procedure to other women looking for answers in Canada. My original gynecologist was proposing a LAVH and then when I told him I wanted this procedure he said oh its probably a good idea that I chose the LSH because who knows whether I would have run into problems doing it the LAVH way.
Another friend of mine who has a relative, who is a gynecologist, in Sweden said this is the latest procedure and she was very happy that I was able to get it. She underwent a hysterectomy but had to have an incision in her tummy which is always more risky not to mention bigger scars and longer recovery.
Hope I've helped. Let me know if you want the live url. It might be TMI (too much information) for you.
Cheers, Kelly 8-|
When I was researching about LSH, I found a website that had the operation live. If you can handle it, I'll post the url. They also had the 2 patients give their comments about the surgery - all of it was positive. As with any surgery there can always be complications but I think this one is the simplest out of all of the different hysterectomies as long as you get someone familiar with doing the technique, namely because they can see more and move around easier. The less invasive the surgery (ie less cutting) the quicker the recovery.
Here's a website that explains a little bit about the surgery:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/03/01/focus1.html
I am so not worried about getting my periods, I can hardly wait till my foot gets better. Sigh......
Where I come from, I luckily only heard about it from a private doctor. I had to pull a fast one to meet with him and I managed to p*****f my original gynecologist in doing so but you know what, with the way I feel, I have no regrets. Now I want to go public to explain the procedure to other women looking for answers in Canada. My original gynecologist was proposing a LAVH and then when I told him I wanted this procedure he said oh its probably a good idea that I chose the LSH because who knows whether I would have run into problems doing it the LAVH way.
Another friend of mine who has a relative, who is a gynecologist, in Sweden said this is the latest procedure and she was very happy that I was able to get it. She underwent a hysterectomy but had to have an incision in her tummy which is always more risky not to mention bigger scars and longer recovery.
Hope I've helped. Let me know if you want the live url. It might be TMI (too much information) for you.
Cheers, Kelly 8-|
Thanks TeacherMom for posting your response on this link. There will probably be a lot more women looking for information on this technique as it gets more widely known.
May we have a speedy recovery with regular sleep cycles soon!
Cheers, Kelly XD
May we have a speedy recovery with regular sleep cycles soon!
Cheers, Kelly XD
HI TERRY, FOUND YOUR ANSWERS VERY USEFUL, HOWEVER, I HAVE ONE QUESTION, DO YOU STILL HAVE PAIN WITH URINATION FROM YOUR BLADDER. THAT IS MY CONCERN, WHEN I WENT TO THE DR FOR MY 2 WEEK CHECKUP, I TOLD HER I WAS HAVING PAIN, NOT ALL THE TIME, BUT MAJORITY OF THE TIME. I HAD MY SURDERY ON 6/5/06 AND I THOUGT SURELY ALL THE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SHOULD BE LEAVING NOW. IT WILL BE 4 WEEKS ON 7/3. EVERYTHING ELSE IS COOL, WALKING, ENGERY LEVEL PRETTY HIGH. BUT THE THING WITH MY BLADDER CONCERNS ME, AS I HAVE NEVER HAD TROUBLE BEFORE. THIS IS WHY I AM ON THIS SITE, I WAS SEARCHING FOR ANYTHING, SOMETHING, ANYBODY THAT COULD SHED SOME LIGHT, OR POSSIBLY BEEN THROUGH THIS OR GOING THROUGH THIS.
I had LSH on June 23, and I'm SO GLAD that I did. I had planed to have a LAVH (lap assisted vag) so I could be off work for 6 wks, but the MD talked me into it 2 days pre op adn said I could still be off 6 wks, no problem. We live in a small town, but his new younger partner assisted him (he is still fairly new at doing them)
PROS:
I was home that evening post op.
Left my cervix and ovaries (he was going to take them if they did not
look good--I am 46 yo)
Less chance of infection
No stitches, just some glue and butterfly bandages
Drive in a week
Shower next day (saran wrap over incisions)
Very little pain, altho one side is still tender one wk post op when I get out
of a chair
CONS:
must still get yearly pap (no problem with me...)
still no sex till 4 wks (it's still a hyterectomy with stitches inside, per MD)
CO2 gas from surgery hurts, esp in right shoulder, but not unbearable.
relieved with lying down
Hope everything goes fine
PROS:
I was home that evening post op.
Left my cervix and ovaries (he was going to take them if they did not
look good--I am 46 yo)
Less chance of infection
No stitches, just some glue and butterfly bandages
Drive in a week
Shower next day (saran wrap over incisions)
Very little pain, altho one side is still tender one wk post op when I get out
of a chair
CONS:
must still get yearly pap (no problem with me...)
still no sex till 4 wks (it's still a hyterectomy with stitches inside, per MD)
CO2 gas from surgery hurts, esp in right shoulder, but not unbearable.
relieved with lying down
Hope everything goes fine
Reply to Soul Syterectomy,
I had this surgery on 6/20. I understand what you are talking about with bladder discomfort. I don't have pain with urination, but I do have extreme discomfort and the sensation of a full bladder several times a day. I don't appear to have a bladder infection--no other symptoms. I had decided last night that if this persists until the first of the week I would call my doctor. What did your doctor tell you?
I had this surgery on 6/20. I understand what you are talking about with bladder discomfort. I don't have pain with urination, but I do have extreme discomfort and the sensation of a full bladder several times a day. I don't appear to have a bladder infection--no other symptoms. I had decided last night that if this persists until the first of the week I would call my doctor. What did your doctor tell you?
For Teachermom and Soul Systerectomy
Mine isn't a painful bladder, mine is painful bowell movements even though they aren't hard. I think its because everything has been blown up from the carbon dioxide and just regular recovery inflamation from the surgery. Curious to see what the doctors say.
Cheers, Kelly %-)
Mine isn't a painful bladder, mine is painful bowell movements even though they aren't hard. I think its because everything has been blown up from the carbon dioxide and just regular recovery inflamation from the surgery. Curious to see what the doctors say.
Cheers, Kelly %-)
I no longer have bladder discomfort. I feel really good now. In fact, one of the reasons I've been so long in responding to this message board is that I'm back to my normal go, go, go, and I'm trying to get caught up on things after feeling awful for so long.
I'm sure the residual pain is different for different women. Age matters. If you're 50ish (like me), remember that it takes longer to heal than when you were 40ish or 30ish. If you had very large fibroids or a very large disturbance of any kind, it probably will take awhile for things to find their natural places in your abdomen. I had the fibroids for years, and they were big, so it took several weeks for things to feel "normal" again.
This is a great surgical procedure as far as invasiveness and recovery time, but it's still a BIG DEAL. If your pain persists, you should go have a test to see if you have an infection or if your bladder was nicked (although I doubt the latter because of the nature of the surgery). I
hope this helps you and others.
Terry
I'm sure the residual pain is different for different women. Age matters. If you're 50ish (like me), remember that it takes longer to heal than when you were 40ish or 30ish. If you had very large fibroids or a very large disturbance of any kind, it probably will take awhile for things to find their natural places in your abdomen. I had the fibroids for years, and they were big, so it took several weeks for things to feel "normal" again.
This is a great surgical procedure as far as invasiveness and recovery time, but it's still a BIG DEAL. If your pain persists, you should go have a test to see if you have an infection or if your bladder was nicked (although I doubt the latter because of the nature of the surgery). I
hope this helps you and others.
Terry
Hi
I was just browsing & I saw this site.
I had the lap hysterectomy 8 days ago.
I came home the day after.
Due to the tumor size (size of a grapefruit) I was in pain but mostly heavy bleeding. Being anemic I was passing out after not having a period for 16 months seems the tumor ws feeding off my uterus according to my ob.gyn.
I lost my uterus & ovaries being 53 this seems ok.
I have 2 small incisions with stitches coming out next Wednesday the 12th.
I think mostly we worked ourselves up in a dander until we had the surgery.
I know a 1 hr operation turned into 2 1/2 hrs and worried my family but all was aok.I hope everyone else has as much luck as I did with my operation.
Also don't skip Meds I did skip painkiller last night figuring after a week I felt great well here it is 8pm and I never even got dressed today.
As for doing laundry, stuff like that I could not.
I did go sit in a park for 1 hr with my grand daughter & daughter as the baby played on the slides and I was exhausted and took a 4 hr nap afterwards.
Don't be in a hurry my doctor said all should be back to normal by August 1st. that is litlte over 1 month for me.
No sex for 6 weeks nothing down there for 6 weeks was his words lol.
Good Luck
Also I am still experiencing numbness after 8 days in the top of my legs from the surgery. Was wondering if this is normal?
Roseann in NY :-D
you can e-mail me at _[removed]_m if you care to corrspond
I was wondering if ther was a group of support for women who just went thru this.
I was just browsing & I saw this site.
I had the lap hysterectomy 8 days ago.
I came home the day after.
Due to the tumor size (size of a grapefruit) I was in pain but mostly heavy bleeding. Being anemic I was passing out after not having a period for 16 months seems the tumor ws feeding off my uterus according to my ob.gyn.
I lost my uterus & ovaries being 53 this seems ok.
I have 2 small incisions with stitches coming out next Wednesday the 12th.
I think mostly we worked ourselves up in a dander until we had the surgery.
I know a 1 hr operation turned into 2 1/2 hrs and worried my family but all was aok.I hope everyone else has as much luck as I did with my operation.
Also don't skip Meds I did skip painkiller last night figuring after a week I felt great well here it is 8pm and I never even got dressed today.
As for doing laundry, stuff like that I could not.
I did go sit in a park for 1 hr with my grand daughter & daughter as the baby played on the slides and I was exhausted and took a 4 hr nap afterwards.
Don't be in a hurry my doctor said all should be back to normal by August 1st. that is litlte over 1 month for me.
No sex for 6 weeks nothing down there for 6 weeks was his words lol.
Good Luck
Also I am still experiencing numbness after 8 days in the top of my legs from the surgery. Was wondering if this is normal?
Roseann in NY :-D
you can e-mail me at _[removed]_m if you care to corrspond
I was wondering if ther was a group of support for women who just went thru this.
So I am having my partial hysterectomy on October 30th and basically I am worried about AFTER the surgery. I have been in so much pain from the fibroid as well as insane bleeding that I am quite relieved to be rid of it all...BUT, I have heard many things about sex after surgery and I am confused. I will have my ovaries and cervix left in place. Is my sex life over at 35?! I hear the length of the vagina can decrease...GOD I CANNOT HAVE THAT! and that orgasms become non-existent, as it is it is difficult for me to have one. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
Hi:
Can you please tell me where to go in Canada for LSH surgery?
I am not sure it is routinely practised in Kitchener-Waterloo area yet.
Thanks in advance
..darleen
Can you please tell me where to go in Canada for LSH surgery?
I am not sure it is routinely practised in Kitchener-Waterloo area yet.
Thanks in advance
..darleen
I realize you have probably done this and recovered by now. I just had mine 8 days ago and am wondering if I'm jumping the gun on how I feel and would like to get another opinion.
I have had very little what I would call pain. I have a very high tolerance so that's why I'm a little concerned. I had a full hysterectomy, both ovaries and most of my cervix. I had a large cyst on one ovary, two large rapid growing fibroids and an enlarged uterus and once they got in there they found I had endometriosis. I went in at 7:30 and was out and home by 12:30. I had no problem urinating. I had had a little constipation from it all so I took a gentle laxative and haven't had a bit of trouble since. My surgery was on a Wednesday and now a little over a week later I am driving on Friday and I'm hoping to get back to work on Monday which will be a little short of two weeks.
My doctor has assured me that if I feel up to it everything is fine. I don't have my full energy back yet but I don't want to damage myself by doing too much. Has anyone done too much too soon and what happened? I think I'm doing great! Just a little discomfort, I take a motrin once a day still but that's all. I'll be going on the bio-identical hormones in about a month.
Hope your surgery went well and you can tell me you got back quickly too.
Sue
I have had very little what I would call pain. I have a very high tolerance so that's why I'm a little concerned. I had a full hysterectomy, both ovaries and most of my cervix. I had a large cyst on one ovary, two large rapid growing fibroids and an enlarged uterus and once they got in there they found I had endometriosis. I went in at 7:30 and was out and home by 12:30. I had no problem urinating. I had had a little constipation from it all so I took a gentle laxative and haven't had a bit of trouble since. My surgery was on a Wednesday and now a little over a week later I am driving on Friday and I'm hoping to get back to work on Monday which will be a little short of two weeks.
My doctor has assured me that if I feel up to it everything is fine. I don't have my full energy back yet but I don't want to damage myself by doing too much. Has anyone done too much too soon and what happened? I think I'm doing great! Just a little discomfort, I take a motrin once a day still but that's all. I'll be going on the bio-identical hormones in about a month.
Hope your surgery went well and you can tell me you got back quickly too.
Sue
Hi Newcomers and Fellow Canadian:
DarleenW - I told my Gynecologist that I wanted to have LSH surgery done and I would go anywhere to have it done. I lucked out and he referred me to someone that was 6 hours driving away (including a 2 hour ferry ride). Anyhow, the surgeon volunteered to come to my home town to train the local doctors or to do it where he worked. I responded that I would go anywhere to have the surgery done and I'm very happy I chose this method. Not everyone is a candidate for it. If your Gynecologist doesn't know someone, then try going to another one it is well worth it. Let me know and maybe I can come up with some other suggestions but that would be my first suggestion. I really had to do a lot of creative digging to find alternatives to a LAVH which is what my first Gyne kept giving me so let me know and I'll try to help..
Sue - I'm 3 months post LSH surgery and am still recovering. My surgeon actually trains all the doctors (I'm assuming in British Columbia, Canada)and this is what he told me AND I can confirm. You will feel better 10 days post surgery and even more at 4 weeks. You will also know when you've overdone it because you will be TIRED and all you'll want to do is sleep (well that's my experience). Happy I Did It (Terry) said that her discharge increased but I didn't experience this at all. I'm also recovering from a broken foot (injured in mid-February) and I truly believe that had I been stronger going in for the surgery I would have been stronger post surgery. My doctor also said to do whatever you felt comfortable doing as long as you don't feel any pain and if you do feel pain, take it easier. I have learned that every women is different and sometimes it can take months to fully recover. I hope this helps. I felt an immediate difference after the surgery and can tell I'm better its just I'm having a more complicated recovery mainly from the broken foot and being stuck on the couch for SOOOOO long.
There is another site that I found very informative and helpful with TONS of questions answered on this very topic and others. I know you will both find it VERY HELPFUL! Here's the url:
hystersisters.com
Good luck everyone, Kelly
DarleenW - I told my Gynecologist that I wanted to have LSH surgery done and I would go anywhere to have it done. I lucked out and he referred me to someone that was 6 hours driving away (including a 2 hour ferry ride). Anyhow, the surgeon volunteered to come to my home town to train the local doctors or to do it where he worked. I responded that I would go anywhere to have the surgery done and I'm very happy I chose this method. Not everyone is a candidate for it. If your Gynecologist doesn't know someone, then try going to another one it is well worth it. Let me know and maybe I can come up with some other suggestions but that would be my first suggestion. I really had to do a lot of creative digging to find alternatives to a LAVH which is what my first Gyne kept giving me so let me know and I'll try to help..
Sue - I'm 3 months post LSH surgery and am still recovering. My surgeon actually trains all the doctors (I'm assuming in British Columbia, Canada)and this is what he told me AND I can confirm. You will feel better 10 days post surgery and even more at 4 weeks. You will also know when you've overdone it because you will be TIRED and all you'll want to do is sleep (well that's my experience). Happy I Did It (Terry) said that her discharge increased but I didn't experience this at all. I'm also recovering from a broken foot (injured in mid-February) and I truly believe that had I been stronger going in for the surgery I would have been stronger post surgery. My doctor also said to do whatever you felt comfortable doing as long as you don't feel any pain and if you do feel pain, take it easier. I have learned that every women is different and sometimes it can take months to fully recover. I hope this helps. I felt an immediate difference after the surgery and can tell I'm better its just I'm having a more complicated recovery mainly from the broken foot and being stuck on the couch for SOOOOO long.
There is another site that I found very informative and helpful with TONS of questions answered on this very topic and others. I know you will both find it VERY HELPFUL! Here's the url:
hystersisters.com
Good luck everyone, Kelly
.....He is attempting a Laperoscopic supracervical hysterectomy by only removing the uterus. I have a cavity the size of a 12 to 15 week pregnancy and heavy bleeding. My doc prescribed Progestin to stop the bleeding a bit because I was becoming very anemic. I have one MD telling me my cavity is too large, and the other doctor telling me he thinks he can do it.
I am a bit nervous because although he has 25 years experience and was on the Board of Directors - GYN at St. Mary's Hospital in Langhorne, PA, he said he has only done a few laprascopic surgeries but said you don't need to be certfied, but has experience in Advance Laperoscopy...not sure what that really means. He is attempting the surgery but said if he can't do it he will have to cut me. I told him I would then prefer a bikini cut, opposed to a cut from the belly button down and he said he couldn't guarantee it, it would depend on several factors and the locations of the fibroids. I have one big fibroid at the base of my uterus.
Does anyone know why more GYN's are not practicing this procedure?
Thanks .....and nervous..
I am a bit nervous because although he has 25 years experience and was on the Board of Directors - GYN at St. Mary's Hospital in Langhorne, PA, he said he has only done a few laprascopic surgeries but said you don't need to be certfied, but has experience in Advance Laperoscopy...not sure what that really means. He is attempting the surgery but said if he can't do it he will have to cut me. I told him I would then prefer a bikini cut, opposed to a cut from the belly button down and he said he couldn't guarantee it, it would depend on several factors and the locations of the fibroids. I have one big fibroid at the base of my uterus.
Does anyone know why more GYN's are not practicing this procedure?
Thanks .....and nervous..
I just had a lapersupercervical hysterectomy. The doctor only removed my uterus.
The only pain I felt was from a muscle retracting. I was in the hospital three days because I was anemic and was weak. The doctor thought I would need a blood transfusion, but a hematologists was called in to treat me with infusions of iron.
The only discomfort I feel is from the bloatedness and gas. It's been only a week and I still walk holding my abdomen but it is bearable just uncomfortable.
Because my doctor only did a few laperooscopies, it took 2 hours. However, he did a great job. He even glued my small scar. Most of my discomfort is on the right side because that was where he had to do most of the work....
Evrything feels the same. No problem with my bladder and my uterus was leaning on it. I had a uterus the size of a thirteen week pregnancy. I also had one doctor tell me my cavity was too large to do a laperoscopy, but this new doctor was able to do it.
I also get a burniing feeling from the right sid where the scar is...when I cough or sneeze.
Hope that helps...
The only pain I felt was from a muscle retracting. I was in the hospital three days because I was anemic and was weak. The doctor thought I would need a blood transfusion, but a hematologists was called in to treat me with infusions of iron.
The only discomfort I feel is from the bloatedness and gas. It's been only a week and I still walk holding my abdomen but it is bearable just uncomfortable.
Because my doctor only did a few laperooscopies, it took 2 hours. However, he did a great job. He even glued my small scar. Most of my discomfort is on the right side because that was where he had to do most of the work....
Evrything feels the same. No problem with my bladder and my uterus was leaning on it. I had a uterus the size of a thirteen week pregnancy. I also had one doctor tell me my cavity was too large to do a laperoscopy, but this new doctor was able to do it.
I also get a burniing feeling from the right sid where the scar is...when I cough or sneeze.
Hope that helps...